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Friday, June 18, 2010

MTD lives in New Orleans and Derwood built a cabin out of sticks and mud in Atlanta, so occasionally they have to communicate through email. Here's the latest back-and-forth entitled "Epic Moments in Poor MVP Voting", but which quickly morphs into something much more ridiculous.

Your Jimmy Rollins MVP rant from our last little email session got me thinking. Since I don't have a date tonight (getting black out drunk and incoherently mumbling about the overthrowing of the Spanish Monarchy of 1807 does NOT impress the ladies), I spent some time over at Baseball-Reference. It didn't take me long to find a worse offense than the Rollins MVP voting. He was plenty valuable in 2007 with a 6.1 WAR. He wasn't Pujolsian, but still hit 30 home runs while playing shortstop. Dustin Pedroia in 2008: yikes. Fack you MTD fah nawt believin Pedroiahr. I know, settle down Boston. A 5.2 WAR and 122 OPS+ doesn't scream MVP to me. Joe Mauer had an 8.7 WAR and a 134 OPS+ and led the AL in batting average at .328 while catching. Mauer was robbed in 2006 too when his 7 WAR came in 6th to MVP Justin Morneau's 3.8 WAR. Well played, Mauer. *chugs vodka* I'm ready to discuss Napolean's invasion of Spain now.

The 2008 AL MVP voting was full of nonsense and not the good kind. Pedroia finishing 1st wasn't the biggest catastrophe either. It was Pedroia finishing 1st and Morneau finishing 2nd. Mauer was obviously the best player in the league that year, Youkilis, who finished third, the ugliest. Here's the worst part: Francisco Rodriguez not only finished sixth (single season saves record!!), but he got a first-place vote. It's amazing that Francisco Rodriguez not only received votes but also was a voter. That's got to be a conflict of interest.

Oh, now you're going to blast the single season saves record? Not just anyone can protect a three-run lead for one inning, am I right Brian Fuentes? Yeah, saves are a stupid stat and it shows how much voters love their counting numbers. I'm surprised Josh Hamilton didn't get more votes for his home run derby performance in 2008. You know what I forgot to tell you about your boy J-Roll? You have to go back to 1987 and Andre Dawson to find an MVP with an on base percentage lower than Rollins' .344. But Dawson is a Hall of Famer. *cleans vomit off of keyboard*

True, Dawson is a Hall of Famer. So is Bill Mazeroski, who had a CAREER .299 on-base percentage. Shows how stupid we are for caring about on-base percentage. I want to continue a discussion we were having yesterday about the Angels and their unwillingness to go the sabermetrics route and just do whatever the hell they feel like and still win. Does it have to do with Mike Scioscia's giant face and head, or is it something else?

Oh, believe me, I'm going to have plenty on the Angels and their clutchiness. And yes, I'm starting to believe they are cultivating clutch. I'm not completely sure it doesn't have anything to do with Scioscia's lack of neck. Look for a post tomorrow.

I don't know what to think about MVP voting. And the Hall of Fame voting is another conversation entirely. But yeah, we should probably change the subject before I want to fire bomb Jim Rice's house or anyone who's still not voting for Bert Blyleven. Besides, the donkey and I have been getting hammered while celebrating Mark Reynolds' second golden sombrero of the season.

When I was playing adult league baseball a few summers ago, I tried to cultivate clutch on my back porch, even skipped our team batting practice sessions to water the plants and give them care. Still hit .190, last in the league, 40 points behind that guy who used to hold the barrel end when he hit.

Anyway, I think clutch only exists when people remember that it exists. Like some Yankees fans, who shall remain nameless because really they're just Cowboys fans, will always remember Derek Jeter as a CLUTCH PLAYER because he made a fantastic play in the Division Series against Oakland in 2001, and in a regular season game against Boston, dove into the stands and caught a foul ball and came out with cuts on his face. I love Jeter, but he isn't a clutch player any more than Johnny Jeter was a clutch player.

Also: Jeter should've moved to third and Alex stayed at shortstop when Rodriguez signed before the '04 season. I've been saying it for seven years, just ask the little man that lives in my arm pit.